Midfield Match? Sporting Kansas City’s LBJ, Bassong, Garcia taking shape, setting tone

“Today, I enjoyed it more,” stated Sporting Kansas City midfielder Lasse Berg Johnsen after a satisfying 3-1 win over Los Angeles Galaxy, May 13^th. “I’m used to playing in Sweden, where I had 1800 passes every game, and we had the ball 65%. I know that is the football [Sporting Manager Raphael Wicky] Rafa wants to play also…Today was a step in the right direction.”

For the record, Kansas City held 42.1% of the possession in the match and was out passed 371-565 according to mlssoccer.com. But a win is a win.

And a process is a process, something the 26-year-old Swede knows a lot about.

Sporting acquired Berg Johnsen from Malmo FF in the Swedish Allsvenskan on February 18, 2026, just three days before the season opener. Since then – with eight matches on the road – adjusting to life in a new country with a new club has been…

“It’s been, like every week, a new thing: getting here, [getting an] apartment, proposing [to his girlfriend of five years], [getting] married. But that is a part of the process.”

Sometimes life imitates art. Sporting Kansas City did not plan a 1-8-2 record before facing the Galaxy, the only team they had defeated previously.

“It would have helped if we had better results until now, but we are in a process,” said Berg Johnsen, “We [have a] new coach, [a new President of Soccer Operations] David Lee, new players. It’s not easy comparing to other teams who [have] worked [together] much longer.”

Enter Bassong

Fifty-six minutes. That is how long Berg Johnsen had fellow midfielder Zorhan Bassong next to him this season before Bassong was able to get past his injuries and start in the win over the Galaxy. Since then, Sporting Kansas City earned a 2-1 win at Austin FC three days later (the first back-to-back wins since July of 2024) and a razor’s edge 2-1 loss to Red Bull New York at home this past weekend.

Before, Berg Johnsen had played in a midfield setup mostly with 20-year-old Jacob Bartlett and Spanish attacker Manu Garcia.

“I think you can see like the value he brings to the team. Experienced player, calm on the ball,” said Berg Johnsen when asked how it was having Bassong starting next to him for the first time. “Though I think what his best set is, just like running over people winning the ball.”

Soccer is indeed a contact sport – though there are some who push for every contact to be called, come on, man – and having a wing man who is a wrecker is good for a player who values the ball at his feet and progressing his club. The combination sets up a cause-effect:

“He wins duels. The team gets more of the ball. It brings confidence, and he has an attitude like, when you press our guy, I’m going to just either take the ball or take the guy or take everything. I loved it.”

Bassong’s aggressiveness and energy, along with a tweak in the squad’s overall approach, has set the tone for new success.

Eleven days back, Kansas City sat back and absorbed attacks at Sporting Park against a very good Seattle Sounders team, waiting for the right moments to go forward. The result was 36.7% possession, being out passed by nearly 300 completed passes, and a 1-1 draw. The final score against the 6^th place Sounders was a positive. But absorbing punch after punch is not dictating a fight, is not the dominant style this team wants to play, especially at home. A 6-0 loss at Portland Timbers followed.

Enough of that.

“I’m not sure [that is what] Los Angeles expected, but we went at them. That’s how we scored the first goal. I won the ball and played Calvin in a lot of space,” said Berg Johnsen. “They looked uncomfortable sometimes because they maybe didn’t expect us to come.

“Too many games we’ve been conceding the first goal, and it’s just like a domino effect. You get passive, the [other]teams get confidence.

“To take this mentality will bring confidence for us, and that’s the challenge. In three days, we need to try to do it again.”

The stats from the win at Austin FC three days on tell the story: a 438-399 advantage in passes completed and 51.4% of the possession. Even in the loss to Red Bull New York, Sporting completed more passes on their way to 58.1% of the possession.

Wicky has instilled a mindset wherein Sporting Kansas City does not “press every single ball high” but pressures or “go[es] after” the opponent in the right moments, resulting in stepping forward, rather than backwards both defensively and in the attack. And, added Berg Johnsen, Wicky has them “training really hard in the midweek.”

Yet, all the tweaks on the pitch come down to players executing. Clearly, the entry of Bassong has paid dividends as Bassong’s ability to win the ball in the midfield and to keep possession and find Berg Johnsen, who can then distribute quickly and accurately, and to play insightful long balls or the ball that needs to be played to alter the rhythm for Sporting’s favor enables Kansas City to play to its strengths whatever the game state.

Manu moved

Manu Garcia – Sporting’s best overall soccer player – has not started a match since May 9, and then he played only the first half.

Struggle demands change. For Kanas City, change began with goalkeeper John Pulskamp being supplanted. Then, Garcia, as Wicky has employed a two-striker setup featuring ace Dejan Joveljic and  24-year-old Taylor Calheira, a first-year MLS striker who has scored goals everywhere he has played.

Six points in three matches and a turnaround in expected goals (xG) per match have been the result. The 2.2 xG for Kansas City versus the 1.5 for LA Galaxy was the first match Sporting won that battle this season. It is now three matches in a row that Sporting have dominated that stat.

The changes have meant more numbers in the attack as Sporting plays more forward through Bassong and Berg Johnsen, and Joveljic, Calheira, and sometimes Calvin Harris stretch the defense, even if Joveljic is dropping into midfield for hold-up play or to combine. That is the big picture.

The corollary effects have been stronger defensive pressing up front and more up-front movement forcing opposing defenses into tracking runners. Overriding them all has been an up-tick in competition within the roster. Result… an up-tick in performance.

“[Manu has been impactful], he has scored, he gave assist, he has had big impact in the games,” stated Wicky after the loss to New York. “If he’s fit, and if he’s healthy, and he plays like that, he will be important to his team.

“But [I] made a technical decision. I think he reacted well coming in from the bench. That’s what you want from players, right? And he did that.”

“When you don’t play, you want to show that you should be starting,” said Garcia. “But, the main thing is that the team is playing much better. The team is competing a lot better.”

Of course, the team keeping more possession in the opponent’s half also helps an attacking player like Garcia. Berg Johnsen sees even another impact.

“The signal we are sending [is different] when Manu is playing as a 10, but when he comes on [and we have] two central midfielders, then we’re really attacking the game.

“He’s really creative, good with the ball. I think he is top level. And for me it’s all about finding the passes to him so he can connect for Deke and Calvin and the other guys.”

Summer camp

Bassong lamented the loss to New York emphasizing that Sporting needs to sharpen their passing and be sharper in all moments, frustrated especially by the allowing a goal that put Sporting down 2-0 just before halftime.

“That is really annoying, because we really dictated that game,” he said. “If we keep doing that, we’re going to be a dangerous team for the rest of the season.

With MLS breaking the the next month plus, a second “preseason” will commence after some time off wherein Sporting can take a honing rod to their play.

“Yeah, my first preseason in the summer,” Berg Johnsen said with a chuckle.

The process continues.

And who knows what roster changes may come during the break as well, for building the roster is a process too. MLS’s transfer window opens July 13, but clubs can negotiate with players before that time.

Then, it will be a 20-match push for the playoffs when Sporting opens at St. Louis City, July 16.

Will Sporting keep the two forward setup? Add a midfielder that sends Bassong to left back? Keep Garcia as a super sub? Or will Wicky inject Garcia into the starting mix with Bassong and Berg Johnsen, a possible match made in the midfield?

Surely, Sporting will continue to “go at” opponents.

Together, with the fans

“At home, we want to set the tone. Today. I really felt the fans together with us,” said Berg Johnsen excitedly despite the loss to New York. “That was an amazing feeling. We really appreciate them coming and supporting us, especially on the first goal, and when we created chances. They were backing us all the time. This is how we want to play at home.”